How to watch Penn State vs. Indiana in Big Ten Tournament
Moments after Penn State’s 66-57 win over Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night, head coach Mike Rhoades was leaning into the moment. His Nittany Lions, surpassing most expectations with a 9-11 mark against conference competition, had added a 10th win to his debut season with the program.
And in the process, they opened the door to an opportunity for an 11th. Set to face Indiana on Thursday night (~9 p.m., BTN), Penn State is working to maximize its stay in Minneapolis and prolong the start of the offseason.
“It’s really cool. The neat thing about it is, it’s this time of the year where it’s kill or be killed is sort of my mantra I have always had. Just lace them up tomorrow and suck it up and win. That’s the fun of it,” said Rhoades. “My dad used to always say this to me too. It’s like gladiator movies. If you go in there just trying to get by, you’re probably not gonna work. You’re not gonna make it.
“You go in and own the day. Go after everybody. You gotta be really aggressive at this time of the year. And if it doesn’t work out, you look in the mirror and say we did it the right way. Leave no doubt. Tomorrow is gonna be a really hard game. But it’s that time of year. Why not? That’s the fun of it.”
Here is how to watch the Nittany Lions in action on Thursday night:
No. 11-seed Penn State (16-16 overall, 10-11 B1G, NET 86) vs. No. 6-seed Indiana (18-13, 10-10 B1G, NET 96)
- TIP: Approximately 9 p.m.
- TV: Big Ten Network – Kevin Kugler (pxp), Robbie Hummel (analyst) & Andy Katz (sideline)
- RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
- NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 84 & SXM App. Ch. 84
- BIG TEN TOURNAMENT: Tournament Central | Bracket
- LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast | Live Stats
- GAME NOTES: Penn State | Indiana
What is the Penn State-Indiana spread?
The Nittany Lions are 2-point favorites over Indiana on Thursday evening. And, the over/under betting total is 151 points.
Injury report
Penn State redshirt freshman big man Demetrius Lilley entered Wednesday night’s game as questionable on the official Big Ten pregame availability report. Rhoades also described him earlier this week as being “day-to-day” while recovering from an unspecified nagging injury.
Lilley went on to play for five minutes against Michigan, scoring three points.
For Indiana, meanwhile, guard Xavier Johnson missed nearly a month of basketball to injury, returning only after Penn State’s second win over the Hoosiers in February. In the time since, Indiana has not lost, ripping off four-straight wins.
Asked how that could change the dynamic of Thursday night’s matchup, Rhoades acknowledged Johnson’s impact.
“He’s a senior. He’s a very good player, really fast with the ball. So where they had trouble against us in the past with pressure the first two games, they’ll try to alleviate a lot of pressure with him,” Rhoades said. “But, Ace will guard him and we’ll see what happens. I like my squad.”
